1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for managing a device included in a home network, and more particularly to a method for controlling the functions of a device in a home network.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is normal for a home network to include Internet Protocol (IP)-based private networks. The home network connects various apparatuses, including a Personal Computer (PC), intelligent products, a wireless apparatus, and the like in a home, through middleware corresponding to a common virtual computing environment into one network, and controls them. By connecting the various apparatuses in the home network in a peer-to-peer scheme, the middleware enables communication between the various apparatuses. Home Audio Video Interoperability (HAVI), Universal Plug and Play (UpnP), Java Intelligent Network Infra-structure (Jini), Home Wide Web (HWW), and the like have been proposed as home network middleware.
A UPnP network is a home network technology, which is currently the most frequently used, and defines a UPnP device, a UPnP service and a protocol between the UPnP device and UPnP service. The UPnP network includes a controlled device corresponding to a home network device controlled while being connected to an IP-based home network, and a Control Point (CP) corresponding to a device for controlling the controlled device.
First, the CP, which is a device for controlling the controlled device, requests the controlled device for an event, and then receives the requested event from the controlled device.
The controlled device, which is a device for performing a function determined by the request of the CP, transmits the requested event to the CP, which has requested the event, when the state of the controlled device changes.
The UPnP network devices configured as described above can perform an advertisement process, a discovery process, a description process, a control process, and an eventing process. The advertisement process is a process by which a new controlled device is connected to a home network and then notifies other devices in the home network of its existence. The discovery process is a process by which a new CP is connected to the home network and then searches for controlled devices operating in the home network. The description process is a process by which in order to control the controlled devices, the CP detects the functions of a newly added device by parsing a service description eXtensible Markup Language (XML) file or a device description XML file using IP addresses of the searched controlled devices. The control process is a process by which when intending to provide a particular service through a relevant controlled device, the CP transmits, to the relevant controlled device, a control message (i.e. an action request) for requesting a predetermined service by using the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) according to a UPnP device architecture, and then receives a response message (i.e. a result and variable value) to the transmitted control message.
The eventing process is a process for checking information regarding a changed state of the controlled device, which has provided the predetermined service, by a control command transmitted from the CP.
In the UPnP network, as described above, it is possible to detect errors of service functions performed by devices connected to the UPnP network. However, in order to solve the problems after detecting the errors of the service functions performed by the devices, it is inconvenient in that the relevant device, which has caused the error, should be rebooted. Further, problems may also occur in that after the relevant device, which has caused the error, is rebooted, it must repeatedly attempt to connect to the UPnP network.